1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an actuation mechanism having two degrees of freedom of movement and a sentry robot having the same, and more particularly, to an actuation mechanism having two degrees of freedom that is capable of tracking a target with a camera and/or gun, and a sentry robot having the actuation mechanism having two degrees of freedom capable of performing wide and narrow monitoring in short and long ranges and automatically shooting at a target.
2. Description of the Related Art
Intelligent robot technology is one of the next generation new technologies which will lead the 21st century's industrial and military science technologies with the technical development of artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, a monitoring and sentry system is a sophisticated system employing a variety of technologies such as ultra-low brightness camera technology, image recognition technology, image processing and storing technology, voice recognition technology, servo technology, image tracking technology, and system control technology.
As the security industry grows rapidly, the demands for the use of intelligent monitoring and sentry robot systems in important national facilities such as airports, harbors, and nuclear power plants will increase. In the military, such a system enhances the efficiency of the sentry function in peace time. To efficiently improve the security of solders in war time, various unmanned equipment, which can replace 3D (dangerous, dirty, dull) duties of solders, have been developed and deployed. The unmanned robot based on the AI technology can efficiently replace manpower and greatly enhance military competitive power.
In particular, the monitoring and sentry robot can perform the most important role in the development of the military strategy. Also, in terms of monitoring and sentry functions, the use of robots can prevent the fatigue and loss of concentration caused by repetition of tasks by solders on sentry duty. Furthermore, the system can have accurate tracking and instant reaction abilities including high speed and accurate shooting ability during engagement with weapons during war time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,676 entitled “Fire Control System” discloses a shooting control system for a manually aimed gun. In the patent, a target is tracked by a video tracker and laser of an electro-optical device (EOD) and the distance and direction of the target are calculated. The image of target is sent to a video monitor of an operator and the operator performs shooting by controlling the gun to track the target through the video monitor.
However, the shooting control system has a problem in that the range of monitoring by a camera device of the system is limited. Also, the conventional monitoring and sentry system employing a single video camera or common monitoring camera is a basic system adopting the concept of automation, not a system capable of intelligently recognizing a target and automatically tracking the target.
In particular, the conventional actuation mechanism included in a monitoring and sentry system has a problem in that the movement of a mechanism driving a camera or gun to track a target is so limited that accurate tracking of the target is difficult. Thus, an actuation mechanism capable of solving the problem, and a sentry robot having the actuation mechanism, are needed.